An artist’s conception of a giant asteroid hitting early Earth. (Courtesy of NASA)

There isn’t any need to worry about the asteroid as it will pass by Earth at around 15 lunar distances away. That’s about 3 million miles from Earth.

“On Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, at 12:55 PM EST, Near Earth Object (2013 MD8), between 38 and 86 meters (126 to 282 feet) in size, will pass Earth at 15.1 lunar distances, traveling at 13.60 kilometers per second (30,418 miles per hour),” said NASA in full.

In 2017, a larger asteroid called 2010 NY65 flew past the earth about 8 lunar distances away. Each lunar distance is approximately 238,900 miles.

(sdecoret/iStock)

NASA recently made note of a giant crater beneath Greenland’s ice that might be the result of a giant asteroid hitting the earth.

The crater is about 22 miles wide and buried under about a mile of ice. If it’s confirmed, the crater would be one of the largest impact sites on the planet.

“You have to drill through 2 kilometers [1.2 miles] of ice, and then, depending exactly what element of the crater’s history you’re interested in, you might have to drill through 100 or 200 m [330 to 670 feet] worth of rock,” NASA scientists Joseph MacGregor told LiveScience.

It’s the second largest crater found in that part of Greenland in recent months. In November 2018, a 19-mile wide crater was discovered under Hiawatha Glacier, noted EarthSky.

“The only other circular structure that might approach this size would be a collapsed volcanic caldera. But the areas of known volcanic activity in Greenland are several hundred miles away,” MacGregor said, reported EarthSky.

NASA is particularly concerned about asteroids that are over 500 feet in diameter and closer than 4.6 million miles from Earth. These types of asteroids are classified as Potentially Hazardous Asteroids.

NASA have issued a statement about the giant asteroid. Here's what you need to know.

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